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 Born
in England, I spent my first nine years in Burma and India. Part
of that time I lived in Darjeeling, on a ridge in the Himalayas
from which, on a clear day, I could see the snow on the sacred
peak Kanchenjunga. Even at six, I loved the light and the
flowers of the magnolias and rhododendrons. I also lived in
Upper Assam, where my mother grew tall, intensely blue
delphiniums and yellow snapdragons and wild elephants roamed the
golf course.
I was removed from this paradise and sent to boarding school in
foggy England for seven long years. The only true beauty I
remember from those years is an unusual view up through a golden
chain tree in full bloom, with a cloudless, deep blue sky beyond.
It was at this school that I began to use a camera.
College followed, then marriage to an American. Migration to the
United States. came next; then two daughters. As my father
had photographed me, so I photographed the girls and sent the
photos to my parents in England.
Once the girls were grown and my parents gone, I began to travel
and photograph in the United States, still so new to me and so
beautiful. Grandchildren came along, faithfully photographed in
their turn, and old enough now to use cameras themselves.
Then came digital cameras and Photoshop--a revelation to a
stranger to darkrooms. The photos multiplied until a
long-since-grown daughter said “What will you do with them? You
have to do something!”
So I decided to take my photography to a new level. Flowers are
my greatest inspiration. Their beauty goes far beyond biological
necessity, though biologists may differ. But I also love to
photograph boats, motorbikes, places, people. Learning to see
with a photographer’s eye and studying the craft have given me a
new enthusiasm for life in all its forms. The learning curve is
delightfully vertical.
In 2007, I won an Honorable Mention in the Washington Gardener
Magazine's photo contest. In 2008, I won a first place in the
Garden Views section of the same contest. In 2007, I also won
first place in the General Historic and Prehistoric Architecture
section of the Salmon Ruins (New Mexico) Architectural
Photography Contest. One of my images was hung in the Gallery in
the Garden show at the Washington School of Photography,
Bethesda, MD, in spring 2008.
My
photographs were the subject of a solo show at the Visitors'
Center, Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD, in June 2008.
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